Millthorpe, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Millthorpe is a town located between Orange
and Blayney
in New South Wales
, Australia
in the Blayney Shire
. At the 2006 census
, Millthorpe had a population of 725 people.
The town was once a major potato
growing area and continues to have extensive agricultural
activities. The town was originally called Spring Grove.
Millthorpe is a picturesque, compact and historic village set amidst gently rolling hills. Classified by the National Trust, it has a number of fine historic buildings, as well as cobbled, bluestone-bordered streets, art galleries, gift and antiques shops, a museum, two hotels, restaurants and cafes, a bowling club and motel. Two of the main streets, Victoria (which runs east-west) and Park (north-south), follow the contours of the local topography with a more regularised grid system extending outwards from them. Millthorpe is located 252 km north-west of Sydney
and 22 km south of Orange.
European settlement of the area began when a government stock station was established in 1823. The town is based upon a land grant originally known as 'Grove Farm' which was made out to convict overseer Charles Booth
in 1834. Noted explorer Thomas Mitchell twice stayed there during inland expeditions.
The area developed as a farming centre from 1840 to 1880 with orchards established in the 1860s. Local agriculture received a considerable boost from the arrival of the railway in the 1870s. A large flour mill was established in 1882. Consequently, in 1884 the town's name was changed from Spring Grove to Millthorpe. Today it is still essentially a service centre to the rich farmlands which surround it.
Millthorpe's commercial area was extended after the depression of the 1890s and many of its largely brick buildings date from that period. The town's decline after World War I
means that it was spared redevelopment and so many of its buildings have survived with very little alteration.
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
and Blayney
Blayney, New South Wales
Blayney is a farming town and administrative centre with a population of 2,745 in 2006, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the Blayney Shire
Blayney Shire Council
Blayney Shire Council is a Local Government Area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railway line....
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Millthorpe had a population of 725 people.
The town was once a major potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
growing area and continues to have extensive agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
activities. The town was originally called Spring Grove.
Millthorpe is a picturesque, compact and historic village set amidst gently rolling hills. Classified by the National Trust, it has a number of fine historic buildings, as well as cobbled, bluestone-bordered streets, art galleries, gift and antiques shops, a museum, two hotels, restaurants and cafes, a bowling club and motel. Two of the main streets, Victoria (which runs east-west) and Park (north-south), follow the contours of the local topography with a more regularised grid system extending outwards from them. Millthorpe is located 252 km north-west of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and 22 km south of Orange.
European settlement of the area began when a government stock station was established in 1823. The town is based upon a land grant originally known as 'Grove Farm' which was made out to convict overseer Charles Booth
Charles Booth
Charles Booth is the name of:*Charles Booth , Tudor bishop of Hereford*Charles Booth , English footballer*Charles Booth , British philanthropist best known for his surveys of poverty in London...
in 1834. Noted explorer Thomas Mitchell twice stayed there during inland expeditions.
The area developed as a farming centre from 1840 to 1880 with orchards established in the 1860s. Local agriculture received a considerable boost from the arrival of the railway in the 1870s. A large flour mill was established in 1882. Consequently, in 1884 the town's name was changed from Spring Grove to Millthorpe. Today it is still essentially a service centre to the rich farmlands which surround it.
Millthorpe's commercial area was extended after the depression of the 1890s and many of its largely brick buildings date from that period. The town's decline after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
means that it was spared redevelopment and so many of its buildings have survived with very little alteration.